TOM COKER REMEMBERS
#1156
by: Eddie Trapp
Well, the article about sideboards on pickups generated more interest than I ever thought possible. There were several responses so I decided to share one more with you. Tom Coker sent a nice email that not only told of sideboards but covered much history of our area. He gave permission to retell the story.
“Dad had a ‘50 or ’51 black Dodge pickup and right after buying it went to Jake Weir’s shop in Tira where Abe White was blacksmith. Abe made the metal frame for the sideboards and Dad bought the oak lumber from a nearby sawmill. Dad and I drilled the holes and mounted the slats on the frame. I still have the kerosene pump that stood in front of Jake’s shop. I gave Miles Hargraves five dollars for it, rescued it from his pasture, and refurbished it in the early Seventies.
The truck hauled lots of cattle to and from the Sulphur Springs sale barn as well as horses when we helped our neighbors work cattle. Dad used the pickup to haul my sister and me through the mud out to the paved road where we caught the school bus to North Hopkins. If it was really muddy we would ride out on a Ford tractor. We lived four miles west of Aiguier Cemetery on a big hill overlooking South Sulphur River bottom. The road by our house led down to the bridge that crossed the river. All of the roads are closed now and belong to the government. Many of them are under the water of Cooper Lake.
In the late Fifties we had record rainfall and South Sulphur flooded, levees washed out, and there was water as far as you could see. From our house on top of that hill it looked like a lake was already there. I can also remember Dad using the truck to haul hay, firewood, and ears of corn to the feed mill for grinding, and for going to the grocery store. One morning I rode in the old Dodge with Dad and Lowell Lawson to a cornfield in the river bottom. The field was a prime target for the local crow population and they were devastating the corn. Lowell got in the back of the pickup as Dad drove and Lowell would dip a coffee can in a washtub filled with poison shelled corn and sling it out into the field. It must have helped since later we used the old pickup to harvest and haul lots of corn to town to get it ground into cattle feed. The old truck with sideboards was a real workhorse. I doubt if any of the new models would survive what that one went through.” Thanks for sharing that with us Tom and to you and everyone, Happy Holidays.
While on ancient history, here’s a little more. Our clan had the annual Thanksgiving gathering this year at the Delta Country Club. Papa brought some of my old school records he found while cleaning out a storeroom. Everyone had a laugh while looking over them. In first grade at Delmar in 1951 and 1952 my teacher was Lillie Hatch, principal, W.H. Smith, and superintendent, J.G. Brunson. The ten acres we bought south of Charleston was once owned by the Smith family.
In the second grade my teacher was Pauline Dodd and the superintendent position was manned by Alvin Welch. Along with my report card was a Bi-Annual Health Report for Lamar County Schools. Since my mother was working on her teaching certificate at East Texas State Teachers College she had somehow paid extra to get me entered in the first grade at an early age, entering the first grade at age four. In the second grade my weight was forty five pounds and my height was forty six inches. All the categories were checked “satisfactory” except for being a “mouth breather.” What is that and do they check for it in schools today? Maybe I just had a stopped up nose the day the nurse came.
After I finished the third grade at Delmar Mama got her teaching certificate and was hired by Superintendent George Ross Price as third and fourth grade teacher for the ‘54-‘55 year at East Delta. (He also hired me for my first teaching job in Alvord, Texas in ’67-’68.) Yeah, Mama was my fourth grade teacher and watched me extra close so others wouldn’t think I could “get away” with something. That caused a few confrontations. All my grades were A’s except for solid B’s in deportment. On my fourth grade report card it showed the school year starting on July 19, 1954. Now folks fuss about starting in August. There was a reason though for the early start. After we went for six weeks school was turned out for six weeks so kids could help pick cotton. Brother in law, Junior Larkin, said he went to Enloe and they didn’t start early, just started school in late August but turned out at noon each day.
The fifth grade report card was not in with the others but Mrs. Imogene Polk was my sixth grade teacher and we still started school in mid July. The seventh grade report is also missing but Joe Daniels was my eight grade teacher and coach. I must have been more scared of them because there were all A’s in deportment. How many of you got out of school for six weeks in the fall to pick cotton?
Venus is now our “morning star” and is shining its brightest of the year. December 12-13 Jupiter is close to the Moon. December 13 we will have the Geminid meteor shower. The meteors appear to be coming from Gemini the Twins’ part of the sky. Best viewing will be after midnight when the Moon has set.
Here are some diary entries by a not so bright cook: Today I made angel food cake. The recipe said beat twelve eggs separately. The neighbors were nice enough to loan me some extra bowls. Tom wanted fruit salad for supper. The recipe said serve without dressing so I didn’t dress. What a surprise when Tom brought a friend for supper.
Today I cooked rice. The recipe said wash thoroughly before steaming the rice. It seemed silly but I took a bath anyway. A new cookie recipe said put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat it. Something must be wrong because when I returned everything was the same.
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